New Zealand’s police and intelligence services have direct access to US surveillance systems such as PRISM, to monitor email and capture various data traffic, according to police affidavits in connection with the raid on Kim Dotcom’s mansion. The news that the Organised and Financial Crime Agency New Zealand (OFCANZ) requested assistance from the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB)... 

New Zealand lawmakers say they now have enough votes to pass a controversial bill that will expand the government’s power, authorizing the interception of private communications in the name of national security. Peter Dunne, leader of New Zealand’s United Future party, changed his position on the legislation and announced his support Tuesday after the bill adopted changes. But critics say the... 

The Labour Party is proposing a new rule that would give electorates the ability to prevent men from contesting a seat for the party. New Zealand Labor Leader David Shearer is now disapproving of his party’s idea of a “man ban”, for male contenders looking for a seat in office. Shearer commented on the ordeal today, saying that he did have “absolutely support” for the idea of more females... 

Tensions between Kim Dotcom and Prime Minister John Key were raised as the pair sparred at a parliamentary committee hearing on the government’s proposed surveillance law, with Dotcom voicing his opposition to the controversial legislation. The New Zealand government has proposed a change in the law to allow the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCJB) to provide support to the New Zealand... 

Nearly 40 per cent of immigrants from China gaining New Zealand permanent residence last year were aged 50 or over. The number of elderly Chinese migrants arriving in the country is nearly four times the 10.7 per cent average of permanent residents in the age group from all other countries. At the same time, those leaving the country are much younger. Sociologist Paul Spoonley said a main purpose... 

In an in-depth interview, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom discusses the investigation against his now-defunct file-storage site, his possible extradition to the US, the future of Internet freedoms and his latest project Mega with RT’s Andrew Blake. The United States government says that Dotcom, a German millionaire formerly known as Kim Schmitz, masterminded a vast criminal conspiracy by operating... 

Aaron Swartz became a political target, and that is what led to his tragic death, believes Kim Dotcom, the founder of the now-defunct file-storage site Megaupload, in a feature interview with RT. The web tycoon has just launched a new site Mega. “There is no reasonable cause behind going after a young genius like him in the fashion they did,” says Dotcom. Swartz had been instrumental in... 

New Zealand calls on Hobbit makers to pay back $56 million subsidy Following the tremendous box office success of The Hobbit film a New Zealand official has called on the moviemakers to repay the $56 million (NZ$67 million) subsidy they received from the country’s taxpayers to fund shooting in New Zealand. The first movie in Peter Jackson’s upcoming trilogy based on J.R.R.Tolkien’s best-selling... 

The making of ‘The Hobbit’ movie for release this month has resulted in the deaths of at least 27 animals, wranglers involved in the film say. The main cause seems to have been poor accommodation and treatment of animals away from the set. According to the American Humane Association supervising the way animals are treated on films, the animals were not harmed during the actual filming, Associated... 

The raid on the mega upload headquarters earlier this year seems to have awakened the rebel spirit within Kim Dotcom, Megaupload’s infamous founder. Since his release from jail he has made repeat promises to put “the dinosaur record industry out of business for good” and has announced the release of a website that will provide free music while paying the artists at the same time. Now he’s... 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey New Zealand’s capital will be renamed after the fictional setting of Middle-earth to celebrate the world premiere of the Hobbit saga film. “The Middle of Middle-earth” is Wellington’s new unofficial name for three weeks before and after the premiere. ­The magic name will be reflected on postmarks on letters and the masthead of Wellington’s main... 

New Zealand is to release special commemorative coins depicting characters from JRR Tolkein’s The Hobbit. They are being issued to coincide with the premiere of the Peter Jackson film of the book. The coins will be valued between $25 and $3000. New Zealand has been the setting for all of Peter Jackson’s movies of Tolkein books including the three part Lord of the Rings. The coins will go on sale... 

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key apologized to Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, saying the file-sharing tycoon was spied on illegally, since he was an NZ resident at the time of the surveillance. Key apologized on Thursday following the release of an official report into the New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau’s (GCSB) surveillance of Dotcom. The FBI and New Zealand Police conducted... 

New Zealanders are moving to Australia in their tens of thousands. Australia is facing a flood of economic refugees. But the big numbers aren’t from the north, they are from the across the Tasman, where Statistics New Zealand yesterday announced the biggest exodus to Australia on record. An extraordinary 53,900 New Zealanders moved to Australia in the year to July – around the entire population... 

English language schools whose students entered New Zealand on fraudulently obtained visas say they had no way of knowing about the scam. A routine audit by Immigration New Zealand’s Beijing branch last month uncovered 279 fraudulent visas. Of that total, 231 students are still in the country with the visas and authorities are trying to track them down. The scheme involved education advisors...